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Halcyon Wardens
"The Emperor protects." "We are his shield!" '' ''"The Emperor strikes." "We are his blade!" - Battle-cry of the Fifth Legion The Halcyon Wardens are the Fifth Legion as established by the Emperor of Mankind. Initially known as the Storm Riders, the legion would be at the forefront of melee combat and armoured cavalry experts, famed for their aggression. It was also during this time that a string of incidents would cast a shadow on their accomplishments, tales of space marines losing control of themselves, whether in homicidal rage or frozen catatonia. This ended with the discovery of their Primarch, Alexandros Darshan VonSalim. Under his guidance, their past aggression was checked, and they were renewed with a dedication to serving humanity. Likewise, the incidents came to an apparent end, mistakenly leading observers to believe they had been cured by Alexandros. Alexandros would go on and lead the renamed Fifth Legion as the Halcyon Wardens. Instead of an offensive focused, tactical doctrines shifted to emphasize defensive warfare in new principles geared more to protecting Imperial citizens and humans than simply slaying enemies. Upon Alexandros' ascension to Warmaster, the Halcyon Wardens became the Warmaster's Own and drove themselves to high discipline to reflect their newfound status. Their excellence would be challenged by the onslaught of the Icarion Insurrection. History The Storm Riders The roots of the Fifth Legion can be traced back to the ancient nation-state of Jermani. When the Emperor revealed himself to Mankind, Jermani was composed to a confederacy of theocratic territories. Each state was overseen by a Bischof, a warrior-priest that were members of the highest caste. The Bischofs would alternate between making war with foreigners and with each other. Central to the teachings of the Kirche der Geduldigen was the Obermann. It was prophesied that a being of great power and will would come to Jermani and institute a ten thousand-year reign. When the Emperor visited Jermani, all but one of the Bischofs recognized him as the Obermann, the sole dissenter executed by his fellow Bischofs. As such, Jermani would become one of the Emperor's early supporters and was rewarded by giving birth to one of his legions. While the techno-barbarians of Jermani were unable to provide much in the way of land or materials, they had one key strategic resource that the Emperor was eager to develop. Due to the constant wars waged by Jermani within and without, it had created an elite caste of fighters known as Blitzers, or Lightning Warriors. These warriors were fearless masters of close-quarters combat, their preferred weapon being the scatter gun. It would be this warrior caste that would be assimilated into the core of the newly minted Vth Legion, augmented by recruits from other Imperium-controlled regions. The fresh Legion would be first tested on the 'isles' of Albyon. Taking place at a latter point in the Unification Wars, Albyon had been deemed a lesser priority by the Emperor given other more threatening Terran powers. As such, Albyon would become one of the first territories to experience invasion at the hands of the nascent Legiones Astartes, instead of the more typical Thunder Warriors. Commanded by the peerless Edrick Yeshie, the Albyon campaign was a success, providing valuable combat experience to the new Legion. Although the Fifth Legion achieved victory, a critical weakness was identified. Even at this early stage in the Emperor's grand design, rivalry was breaking out among the Legions. In this specific case, legionnaires of the Vth began to compete with their cousins of the First Legion. To differentiate themselves from the tactical flexibility of the First Legion, the Fifth Legion dedicated itself to mastering close quarters combat, undoubtedly influenced by the former Blitzers in their ranks. During the Albyon campaign, the Fifth Legion would often unleash devastating assaults against enemy positions, scoring visually pleasing victories. Yet, it came with a steep cost of blood as even Space Marines could eventually be overwhelmed in sheer numbers. After several battles, casualties were high enough that survival became an issue for the new Legion. To counter this weakness, the Legion turned to developing assault vehicles specifically designed for the transhumans. While efforts were underway, the Unification Wars continued. The next assignment for the Fifth Legion was to breakthrough the Nordafrick Conclave defence zone surrounding The Three Flags' transportation hub. Given that the Legion couldn't rely on assault transports, First Lord Commander Bizs'ark decided to improve his chances of victory through the use of massed rhino and predator formations. This was a controversial logistical request given the limited manufacturing capabilities of Terra. Yet, Bizs'ark's request was granted. The First Lord Commander did not waste this blessing and promptly scored a major victory over the Conclave, a foe that had already repulsed several attempts by the Thunder Warriors. More importantly, through the additional emphasis on armoured units, casualties within the legion dropped to more acceptable levels. At the same time, the infamous battle created a corps of talented cavalry officers that would become known as the Prefects. It was after this battle featuring a massed mechanized assault that the Legion earned the name, 'Storm Riders'. They would go on and demonstrate the truth of this name again and again throughout the Unification Wars. After the Emperor signed Treaty of Mars, known as the Treaty of Olympus Mons among the Mechanicum, the Storm Riders would be placed in charge of developing and field testing the recently discovered Land's Raider, and eventually the Spartan Assault Tank. They would become powerful additions to the Legiones Astartes, with the Storm Riders being the undisputed masters of them during the early stages of the Great Crusade. Rivalry with the Blood Wolves The rivalry with the First Legion was not the only antagonistic relationship the Storm Riders developed in those early days of the Imperium. While the III Legion was founded before the V Legion, the V Legion would deploy before the III Legion, due to a higher gene-seed acceptance rate among the V Legion. As mentioned previously, the proto-Storm Riders would first conquer Albyon as a Legion. Albyon would go on and provide a large number of warriors who would form the core of the III Legion. Due to the V Legion's involvement, a number of these 'Blood Wolves', as the III Legion became known, harbored grudges against their cousins, the Storm Riders. The Storm Riders reacted to the wounded pride of the Blood Wolves with dismissive pride, claiming that all they had done was faithfully serve the Emperor. Given the belligerence on both sides, tensions escalated until the two Legions nearly came to blows during the Compliance of Reillis. Both legions had been chosen to bring the renegade forces of the mega metropolis to heel and had quickly placed it under siege. Confident that victory was nigh, it was here that a fight nearly broke out when the commanders of both legions, Lord Commander Bizs'ark and Lord Commander Thegn Rollon, insisted on completing the battle with their preferred tactics. Moments after Thegn Rollon demanded a duel for honor, the rebels launched a vicious counter-attack using a network of secret tunnels to assault the Legions from beneath their feet. Although at each other's throats a moment before, the Blood Wolves and Storm Riders reacted quickly as their trained instincts came to the fore. Legionnaires from both sides found themselves fighting for their lives relying on one and another as they endured the Reillis assault. Bizs'ark and Rollon ended up fighting back-to-back when they were surrounded by the renegade human forces. It was during this engagement that Bizs'ark lost a foot when a roving plasma blast melted it, necessitating a bionic replacement later. As furious as the opening assault was, the transhuman Legiones Astartes rallied, first persevering through the storm before launching their own counter-attack. The Reillisian leaders had gambled everything on this attack and, in turn, lost everything as the twin Legions used the same tunnel network to bypass the metropolis' defenses. Legion Organisation and Structure units & Stuff here War Disposition strength and materiel here Notable Campaigns go here Category:Legions Category:Loyalist Category:Fifth Legion Category:Halcyon Wardens